Chapter 3 - THE HOUSEKEEPER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Savannah knew someone had searched her locker before she even opened it.
The small piece of transparent tape she had placed across the doorframe was broken.
She glanced down the employee hallway.
Empty.
Inside, her spare uniform had been moved.
Her notebook was missing.
And someone had left a folded piece of paper beneath her shoes.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR MOTHER.
Savannah’s stomach tightened.
She had been inside Whitmore Global Holdings for less than two weeks.
Already, someone knew.
She slipped the note into her pocket just as Ethan appeared around the corner.
“Rough day?”
She shut the locker.
“Something like that.”
He noticed her shaking hands.
“Are you in trouble?”
Savannah forced a smile.
“Why would you ask?”
“Because you look like someone who just found a snake in her closet.”
Despite herself, she laughed.
“Maybe I did.”
Ethan leaned against the wall.
“Want to talk about it?”
For a moment, she almost told him everything.
About her mother.
About Linda.
About the stolen company.
But trusting people had nearly destroyed her family.
“I barely know you.”
“Then we should fix that.”
He held up two paper cups.
“Coffee?”
Savannah glanced suspiciously at his shirt.
“After what happened yesterday?”
“I thought I’d give coffee another chance.”
She laughed again.
They sat outside on a bench overlooking downtown Denver.
For twenty minutes, they talked about ordinary things.
Bad bosses.
Colorado winters.
The best breakfast diners in the city.
Savannah discovered Ethan was funny, patient, and unexpectedly knowledgeable about business.
When she mentioned that a company could be destroyed by a fraudulent transfer of voting shares, he answered without hesitation.
“Only if nobody challenges the chain of ownership.”
She stared at him.
“That’s a very specific answer for a driver.”
Ethan took a sip of coffee.
“My father taught me a few things.”
“What did he do?”
Ethan looked toward the mountains.
“He trusted the wrong people.”
Something in his voice stopped her from asking more.
That evening, Savannah returned to the executive floor to empty the trash.
Linda Whitmore’s office door stood slightly open.
Savannah heard voices inside.
Claire was arguing with her mother.
“You promised Savannah Reed would never come back!”
Linda’s reply was ice-cold.
“She did come back.”
Claire gasped.
“What?”
Linda lowered her voice.
“And the little fool is already working in this building.”
Savannah stopped breathing.
May you like
Then Linda said something even worse.
“Find out whether she knows her father is still alive.”
